cast

Last month it was revealed that Google Cast-supported devices were causing networking issues for many. After the story garnered widespread attention, Google quickly pushed out a fix in the form of the Play services 11.9.74 beta. Affected parties were able to manually install this version or jump into the testing program to get it, and it was supposed to fix the issue. But, that was a beta release that not everyone received (since betas are opt-in). The beta seems to have gone well, though, as Google has now pushed these fixes to everyone else via the latest stable release, v11.9.75.

Play Books just hit version 4 yesterday, but on the surface it looks like very little has changed. There are a couple of relatively small tweaks here and there, but it wouldn't appear to deserve a big version jump. However, this is the version that will launch audiobook support. A teardown shows that there's a ton of new functionality hiding below the surface and it's all just waiting for Google to flip the switch.

A few days back we reported that the Google Home Max (among other Cast-enabled devices) might be connected with some recent reports for widespread Wi-Fi troubles. Google has indirectly responded to this issue in a page on the Device Support section for Google Home support, in which the company acknowledges the existence and cause of the problem, promising a fix tomorrow.

It's 2017, and we still don't have commercial flying cars, affordable jet-packs, or even automated package delivery. But thanks to HUDWAY, at least one sci-fi mainstay has made its way into the consumer market. Today the company launched a Kickstarter for its newest product, an affordable heads-up display called the HUDWAY Cast.

Around the world, a lot of people rely on their mobile devices as their only point of access to the internet and don't have a WiFi connection or router at home. For many of those people, using a Chromecast would have been impossible if it weren't for one small logical workaround: creating a hotspot with their phone that the Chromecast can connect to. Unfortunately, that workaround is no longer, uhm, working right now and it sounds like the latest Google Play Services is to blame.

NVIDIA's SHIELD TV is one of the best Android TV set-top boxes on the market (though the competition isn't that heated threr), but it's also quickly becoming one of the best overall video set-top boxes, even with Roku, Amazon, and Apple in the game. It was only a couple of weeks ago that the SHIELD TV added 4K streaming from Google Play Movies, and now it's announcing a couple of other improvements to its casting feature.

A new Google Cast Receiver update has opened up new capabilities to the SHIELD TV and NVIDIA was quick to jump on board and verify they all work as intended.

Premium cable and satellite television network Epix has launched its very own casting technology that doesn't require any extra hardware. The imaginatively named "EPIX Cast" enables any Android device loaded with the Epix app to stream content to any connected TV set. This is all part of the company's "TV Everywhere" approach, which it hopes will attract customers through being easy to use and ubiquitous.

I listen to music when I am doing most any activity, especially for work, school stuff, and the gym. Sometimes, though, it's difficult to find the right artist or playlist that suits my particular mood at a given moment. Luckily, Google Play Music has those suggestions throughout the day for various activities, and a similar feature has arrived for the Home app.

The era of the Google Cast app has come to an end—long live Google Home. An update is rolling out right now in the Play Store that includes the Home rebranding. It still does the same things, but the layout has changed. You can also expect some features for the Google Home hardware in this app as soon as the device ships.